Guys and Dolls
by chestnut24
Summary: Austin and Ally meet as juniors in college while they're both working on the college's musical.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Austin and Ally. Also this is my first ever fic so thoughts and reviews are much appreciated!**

Chapter 1

Carrying her score across campus to the music building, Ally Dawson hummed the overture to Guys and Dolls. It was the first day of rehearsals for the college's fall musical, jointly put on by the theater and music departments. Ally had been in the pit bad every year so, as a junior, she was one of the most senior members. No one had ever seriously challenged her as the best piano player on campus, though. She had played since she was two, so playing piano was like breathing for her.

Only five or six other players were there when she arrived, so Ally warmed up with some scales. Behind her she heard a loud "Out of my way freshman!" and she smiled. Her best friend Trish had never entered a room quietly.

Ally turned and asked "Trish, what are you doing here?"

"What, not happy to see me?" Trish asked jokingly, then said, "The rehearsal schedule this semester is identical for the actors and the pit so that we can more easily start joint rehearsals of songs earlier than usual."

"Oh thank God," Ally replied, "tech week won't be as much of a train wreck then. I'm so excited you're playing Adelaide, you get so many good numbers."

"Plus plenty of time to nap during other people's scenes! The couch back stage is sooo comfy!"

Ally laughed at her friend as the conductor walked into the room. Trish waved a quick goodbye and rehearsal got started.

Some of the players were a little rusty and the music was fairly complicated so they stumbled through first-reads of the songs in the First Act during the hour and a half rehearsal. While everyone else packed up, Ally asked the conductor a question about how her part in the overture interacted with the horn line and pored over the combined score until everyone else had left. Just as she was packing her bag up to leave, the door to the rehearsal space opened.

In walked a blonde guy, wearing tight jeans, a leather jacket, and a big, friendly smile. Upon spotting Ally, he came over and said "hey I'm just returning a tuner we borrowed for rehearsal, can I just leave it here?"

Ally dodged his eye contact but said awkwardly, "uh, sure, I can get it back in the instrument closet."

Beaming, and without noticing her shyness, he replied "Great! Thanks! I'm Austin by the way, Austin Moon. I'm playing Sky Masterson.

"Yeah, I know who you are. I'm Ally Dawson, I play keyboard in the pit."

Austin practically bounced up and down as he said, "Awesome! I love playing piano! And guitar! And drums! But also singing and dancing, obviously." He unceremoniously grabbed the score from her hand and plopped down at the piano, opening it to a random page. Before Ally had a chance to protest, he started perfectly playing "If I Were a Bell." Ally silently watched him carefully, realizing he was actually talented, but was also irritated by his ego.

When he was nearing the end of a page, she took a step forward and turned the page and he smiled up at her gratefully. She sat down next to him and suddenly he said "you take right hand." Surprised, she jumped in and they played together.

At the end of the song, they turned to face each other on the piano bench and said simultaneously "Wow, you're really good." They both laughed and Austin bumped Ally's shoulder with his own, saying "Jinx." Ally blushed, broke eye contact, and quickly stood up to get some space between her and Austin.

Grabbing the music she mumbled "I should get going, lots of reading to do" as she stared at her feet. Once more Austin didn't notice her awkwardness and said "Okay!" I'll see you around… Ally right?"

She glanced at him and nodded before giving him a small wave and hurrying out of the room.

Ally had never actually talked to Austin Moon before, but everyone on campus knew his name. Sure, it was a small college, but Austin was one of the popular people. Not in an annoying, climbing the social ladder kind of way, but in an effortless and incredibly friendly kind of way. Nobody had anything against Austin, he was just talented at everything he tried, from basketball to music. Ally, on the other hand, always kept her head down and lived in the music building, practicing piano and writing songs. It was no surprise that Austin didn't know her name, even though she had spent the last two years watching him sing and dance on stage while she sat in the pit. Even though the cast and pit were musical theater geeks, they ran in very separate circles for the most part and the actors were the well-known ones on campus.

On the walk back to her dorm she texted Trish, her one friend among the actors, and said "LOL just wound up playing piano with Austin Moon. That was…weird." Within a minute Trish texted her back: "haha sounds like Austin, obliviously walking into situations and showing off." Ally smirked a little, then filed the conversation in the back of her mind and focused on reading for her History of Baroque Music class.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rehearsals and school continued over the next month. Ally loved the music and was at ease with her fellow band members. It was a great break three times a week from all the essays and readings and classes. She loved school and learning, but playing music was even more organic and natural for her, not to mention less stressful.

Since their meeting in the band room, Austin had taken to waving at her and saying hi any time he saw Ally on campus. She never stopped to talk to him.

One day, after her economics class, which was a requirement for all students at the college, she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up at a big smile and mop of blonde hair.

"Hey Ally! Soooo… that big econ midterm is coming up…"

Ally was surprised. She had never noticed Austin in that class, but it was a very big class and she sat near the front every day.

"Ummmm… oh hey Austin, yeah, that's uh pretty soon.

"Yeah! So I was wondering if you wanted to study with me?"

Ally paused. Why was Austin asking her to study? Surely he had other friends in this class. Austin noticed her hesitation and sheepishly admitted, "I know you're really smart and I've missed a bunch of classes so I was hoping you could help me catch up!"

Before she could stop herself, Ally rolled her eyes and sighed. People had been asking her for help with schoolwork since the second grade. She had found teaching others really helped her teach herself the material. Also, she was a sucker for a plea for help. Particularly when it came from a cute boy who had piqued her curiosity.

"Sure, Austin. How about after rehearsal next Thursday? That gives us the whole weekend before the test."

"Oh! Great! Yes!" Austin nodded enthusiastically. To Ally's surprise he didn't just leave right away, but instead waited for her to finish packing her bag. As they walked out he started asking about some of the hard piano parts in the show and how the pit was doing. If anything could make Ally forget her shyness and social anxiety it was talking about music, so they were soon deep in conversation.

"Dining hall?" he asked as they approached the building. Ally had been planning to head to the library to get ahead on readings, but at the smells of mediocre dining hall food her stomach grumbled, so she shrugged and nodded.

After they got food and grabbed a table there was an awkward silence until Austin said, "So how long have you been playing?"

"Since I was two, she replied. "I picked up violin, clarinet, and French horn over time, but piano is my first love. How about you?"

"About the same. Parents got me piano lessons at age five but by ten I had found guitar, which is still my favorite."

She nodded and silence fell again. Once more Austin broke the silence by asking, "You're a music major, right? Have you written songs?"

Ally blushed profusely and refused to make eye contact. "Uh, yeah I'm a music major. And noooo… no I don't write songs really. At all. I mean not never but not for class. Nobody hears anything I write. Not that I write any."

Austin looked at her confused and amused. "So you have like three albums of songs written, don't you? That's cool, I wish I could write songs, but I'm just not good at it alone. Composition classes are the only music classes I've ever struggled with."

"Is this your way of asking me to help you write songs for class, too? Let's see how econ goes first," Ally joked in an attempt to change the topic. Before Austin could respond a tall red-head yelled "Austin! Isn't the pizza amazing today?"

Most people in the room looked up as the guy bounded over to Austin. Austin grinned and stood up so they could do a hand shake that ended with a high-pitched "what up?"

Austin then turned to Ally and said, "Hey Ally, this is my friend Dez. He's doing tech for the musical!"

Dez nodded at her but before Ally could introduce herself he said, "But Austin, the PIZZA."

Austin looked at Dez's plate and said, perplexed, "Dez you have chicken fingers."

Dez reached into his pocket and pulled out a slice of pizza with some lint and a thread from his pants on it. "This pizza!" he announced proudly. "That's yesterday's pizza Dez. You said it was the worst pizza you've ever had," Austin replied.

"Everyone knows pizza is the best when aged," Dez answered and then plopped down at their table and looked at Ally. "So you're in the musical?"

Ally didn't know what to make of Dez, but said "Oh no. I mean sort of. I'm in the pit band."

"Cool!" Dez said, then turned back to Austin and started a conversation about the relative merits of the spaceships in Star Wars and the Zalien movies. Ally listened, amused, as Austin and Dez got very excited about the topic. They looked and sounded like kids when they interacted and Ally was surprised that such a popular kid liked geeky topics and had a geeky best friend. After a few minutes, though, she realized she had nothing to add to the conversation and she had studying to do.

She got up and said she was heading out, and both Dez and Austin smiled broadly and exclaimed "Bye Ally!" while waving, further cementing their child-like friendship. Ally decided at that moment that she liked what Dez brought out in Austin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh wow there are actual humans reading this. Thanks for the follows/reviews/favorites, I'll try and regularly update for you all!**

Chapter 3

The next day, Tuesday, was the first day Austin performed a song with the pit band at rehearsal. They worked on the classic "Luck Be a Lady" and Ally was reminded just how talented she thought Austin was. His voice was amazing and he oozed the kind of natural charisma that Sky Masterson needed. Surprisingly he was also a good actor. He played Sky with none of the innocence and openness Ally had seen so clearly in her last two interactions with him. Instead, he conveyed the smooth, classy persona of Sky flawlessly.

In the middle of the third time through the song he made eye contact with Ally and winked at her, causing her to blush yet again. At the end of the rehearsal he made a bee line for Ally and said, "Hey! You were great!" before proceeding to sit and play the whole song from memory. This caused Ally to laugh and sit down next to him. She noticed a few curious glances from the other pit band members, but Austin commanded that she play a harmony part before she could overthink it.

Before long, they were the only ones left in the band room. Austin paused his playing and casually asked, "Do you sing?"

"Oh no no no no not outside the shower anyway," Ally answered, feeling her stage fright and anxiety wash over her all at once. Austin elbowed her and looked at her expectantly before saying, "Oh come on, for me? Pleeeease? I'll play 'If I Were a Bell' and you can sing!"

Ally looked around for any support but everyone was gone. She knew she was a pushover, even when it resulted in something uncomfortable for her. He kept looking at her hopefully and finally she sighed and nodded.

He started playing and her voice came out timid and shaking. Austin nodded at her encouragingly and she gradually got a little more confident and her voice came out stronger. She closed her eyes and pretended she was in her shower, belting the song out in privacy. When Austin had finished the last notes of the song, he looked at her in wonder. "Ally… you're amazing at singing. You should be up there on the stage with me."

She looked at him in shock and only shook her head mutely. Eventually she just said, "Stage fright." He frowned but she started playing a different song so he wouldn't keep asking questions.

Austin realized she was playing one of her own songs and just quietly listened. When she was done he just said, "Ally, is there anything you're not amazing at?" She just blushed and said, "I could ask you the same thing." They grinned at each other for a minute until they heard a loud voice coming down the hall yelling "Alllllyyyyy" before Trish appeared in the doorway. Ally leapt off the piano bench and Trish whined "We were supposed to meet to get dinner half an hour ago, did you get lost in a book… oh hey Austin."

"Hey Trish! Sorry I distracted Ally."

"Trish I'm so sorry, I didn't realize how late it had gotten. I was just headed out!" Ally blurted out. She grabbed her bag and started pushing Trish out the door while hurriedly saying goodbye to Austin over her shoulder.

Trish was naturally suspicious and peppered Ally with questions about Austin all through dinner.

That Thursday, after Ally had finally gotten Trish to believe there was nothing going on between her and Austin and after that day's rehearsal, Ally went to find Austin. She didn't have his phone number and pit band rehearsal had ended early so she wandered over to the stage, assuming he would be there.

Just outside the stage door she saw him arguing with Kira, the female lead playing Sarah in the show. She couldn't hear what they were saying but their body language indicated there was ongoing conflict. Just as she was about to turn around and give them privacy, Kira just threw up her hands and walked off in the opposite direction. Austin ran a hand through his hair and then turned and noticed Ally standing there. He instantly tried to cover up his frustration with a big smile, but Ally could tell it was fake.

"Hey Austin, I was just looking for you so we could study econ…" she said tentatively.

"Of course! I was assuming we'd meet in the band room," he replied as if he hadn't just been in an upsetting conversation. "Let's head to the student center and grab one of the study rooms."

Three hours later, Austin understood the basic principles of supply and demand and they had emptied two bags of Sour Patch Kids and one bag of chips. "Let's take a break," Ally suggested and Austin nodded tiredly, putting his head down on the table.

Silence reigned for a moment but Ally's curiosity got the better of her. "Sooo… looked like you were having a pretty nasty conversation with Kira, is everything fine in the cast?" she asked.

Austin grunted into his folded arms and then picked his head up. "I mean with the rest of the cast, yeah. But Kira and I dated during the play last year and had a nasty breakup over the summer so things are a bit, well, tense."

"Oh," Ally said, unsure of whether she and Austin were now close enough to talk about past relationships. "Was it… I mean did she… what happened?" she asked finally.

Austin shrugged and replied "She just needed a lot from me, constantly calling and texting, and I really wanted to focus on my music and my career. I was having a bad day at some point and blew up at her about how needy she was. She didn't talk to me for a week and then came back and said I'd made the worst mistake of my life and I would regret saying those things but that we were done. I've never been so relieved, honestly, until we were cast together in this."

Ally nodded understandingly. "Is it going to be awkward when you have the, you know, kissing scene?"

Austin theatrically threw his head back and lamented "oh yes it absolutely will be and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it."

"Sorry, I probably shouldn't ask you such personal questions," Ally said, suddenly self-conscious again.

"Why not? We're friends Ally," Austin stated, looking at her curiously. Then he smirked and said, "And anyway, it's only fair if I get to ask you the same questions!"

Ally blushed and shrugged, knowing she couldn't object after she'd asked him so many questions. "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked. "Or a girlfriend."

"Nope. Single as can be."

"Ever had one?" Austin asked, showing more genuine curiosity than Ally anticipated.

"Not really. There have been things, you know. College things. Where you see each other for a while, maybe go on some dates, probably do some stuff, and then it fizzles out without being a proper relationship."

Austin nodded but also looked surprised. "And no high school boyfriend? Hard to believe…"

At that Ally laughed audibly. "Why? I'm awkward and shy and weird and in high school I was still deep in my awkward phase. And before you ask, no, I don't have any photos."

Austin smiled back but before he could ask another question Ally said "Ok, back to work!"

The next several days involved a lot of time together and a lot of junk food consumption. By Sunday they were sprawled on the floor of his dorm room's common area, quizzing each other. Ally had learned that when Austin actually tried and applied himself he could learn anything he wanted to, but musical pneumonic devices were often the most effective for him.

At ten o'clock at night on Sunday Ally closed her textbook with a loud snapping sound which caused Austin to jump. "Alright Austin, we're done. There's nothing else to go over, the test is tomorrow at nine and we both need some sleep before then."

Austin rolled over on his back and yawned, stretching his arms out wide. "Okayyy I am pretty tired. Thanks for everything Ally, this has been insanely helpful and I know you were doing this out of pity for me."

Ally shrugged, "I don't know about that. It really helped me relearn the material. We make a good team!" she said brightly. "And anyway, I wouldn't say I agreed to this _just_ out of pity…" she trailed off. She realized she had said more than she meant to, but blamed it on her tired brain.

Austin perked up at this and asked, "Oh really? What else could possibly have led sensible, brilliant Ally Dawson to help me out if not pity?"

Ally made eye contact with him for a few seconds before answering, "I was curious."

"Curious about what?"

"What you'd really be like. If you'd be a jock or a drama queen like some of the people you hang out with."

"Oh come on" he replied, "You've met Dez and he's my best friend. I like weird people a lot better than I like cool people. Especially weird people who help me get good grades and are musically gifted."

Ally smiled at the compliment and then stood up to grab her things and pack them into her backpack. "I know. Or at least I know that now" she replied, smiling at him. He got up to open the door for her.

"Thanks again Ally, I'll see you tomorrow morning!" he said before pulling her into a big warm hug. It was a perfect hug. The kind of comforting, warm, intimate but without crossing boundaries kind of hug that put Ally into a happy mood as she hugged him back and accepted the physical contact. They parted smiling, and both headed to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

In the morning Ally only saw Austin for a quick wave across the crowded room before the exam got started. She realized how many people were actually in the class now that they were all forced to show up at once and was surprised she could even find Austin in the mayhem. All that flew from her mind as she opened the test and met the graphs, equations, and multiple-choice questions that awaited her.

The two hours flew by, but she finished early enough to go back and check her answers in the last twenty minutes and make her essay portion slightly more grammatically correct. She handed the test to the TA with confidence and headed for the door. Outside the economics building she waited for Austin and smiled when he appeared, looking side to side to scan the campus for her.

"Austin! Over here!" she called and saw him grin in recognition.

"Ally, oh my god, I feel like that test went well… I haven't studied that hard for anything in a while I guess."

"Grades come out Friday, I guess we'll know more then," she shrugged noncommittally.

"I'm going to meet Dez at the dining hall, you want to come with?" he asked, waving off her pessimism.

"Oh well I was going to meet up with Trish there, but we could all just eat together," she replied. She texted Trish on their walk to the dining hall and before long the group of four had found a table. Trish was eyeing Dez skeptically, particularly his rainbow plaid pants and taco dinosaur t-shirt that somehow managed to match none of the colors on the pants.

"I just hope he knows how to center the spotlight on me…" she muttered under her breath to Ally.

Dez on the other hand was focused on figuring out whether he thought llamas or squirrels would make a better pet when he became a famous director. Austin weighed in favor of the llama but Ally argued for squirrel, since it would be easier to train and take places. Dez tried to get Trish's opinion, but she only said "Whatever, you doof, both would just poop everywhere," making Austin and Ally laugh.

Friday, when the grades were posted, Ally got an excited text from Austin: "ALLY I GOT AN A- THIS IS THE BEST GRADE ALL YEAR WE HAVE TO CELEBRATE TONIGHT" and Ally laughed. She had easily gotten an A and was in fact slightly disappointed not to have gotten an A+ but she texted back "After rehearsal? What did you have in mind?"

Her phone then rang and she picked up. "Ally let's get dinner tonight to celebrate. Not like dining hall dinner like proper dinner out in town!" Austin said, and Ally could hear his grin in his voice.

"Uh… sure. I don't know too many restaurants but I'm sure I can Google something" she replied.

"Oh don't bother I know the perfect place. You have to let me buy you dinner to thank you for all your help!"

Ally froze. Buying dinner for her? That seemed… like a date. Did she want it to be a date? Did he in fact mean it as a date?

"Ally? Hello? You still there?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry I got distracted by a… squirrel. In a tree. Don't worry I can pay for my own dinner, we were a team and you helped me, too. Plus, you know, 21st century and all, women can buy their own dinners…" she trailed off.

"Fiiiine whatever but we'll go after rehearsal. See you tonight!"

Because of the unclear status of whatever this dinner was, Ally spent the whole afternoon worrying about her outfit and not doing any work. Normally she would ask Trish for help but she didn't want her friend getting suspicious or thinking it was more than it actually was. Surely Austin just meant it to be two friends going out to celebrate dinner together. It was why he asked her. But she couldn't shake the feeling that it might be a date and that made her nervous, although not in a bad way.

The outfit was complicated. She wanted it to look casual and effortless partly because she had to wear it to rehearsal and partly because she wasn't sure this wasn't a casual dinner. But it also had to be passable for a fancy restaurant if that's where Austin was taking her. She settled on a classic pair of black jeans that had some leather accents, some low-heeled black booties and a flowy emerald green shirt that she often wore to class or around campus. By the time she finished her makeup, it was already time to head to rehearsal.

She had forgotten that today was another day where the cast would be coming to practice with the pit. Rushing in to make sure she was on time, Ally was surprised to see Austin there, as well as Kira. The conductor looked at her, a little annoyed at her not having warmed up, but started the rehearsal with "I'll Know."

Ally watched Austin and Kira out of the corner of her eye with curiosity while she played. The two stood quite far apart and made no eye contact. Austin had his hands shoved in his pockets and looked at the ground, while Kira stood tensely looking forward. Each performed their solo parts of the song flawlessly but without any emotion. When they had to harmonize, both were thrown off momentarily but found their way back to the melody.

At the end, the conductor looked at them curiously. "Guys… could you try performing that with a little more… personality?"

Kira frowned and Austin shrugged and nodded. When the conductor started the piece again, Ally realized Austin was looking directly at her as he sang. And he sang with much more of the real feeling Ally knew he was capable of performing with. Kira must have noticed, too, because she put some more emphasis into the song so as not to be outdone by her ex.

After a couple more run-throughs, they moved on to "My Time of Day" and "I've Never Been in Love Before," the other songs that required both Sky and Sarah to sing together. The tension between Austin and Kira never eased and the whole pit band seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when the rehearsal ended.

Austin strolled over to where Ally was packing up her bag and smiled at her. She noticed that Kira had spotted Ally and Austin together and was glaring suspiciously at them, so Ally picked up speed and quickly walked out with Austin.

"So, what mysterious restaurant are we headed to?" she asked as soon as they were out of earshot of the music building.

"My favorite Mediterranean place in town! It's sit-down but not too expensive and it's just… nice," Austin replied, at a loss for how to describe why he liked the place. As soon as they walked in, Ally understood. It was homey, for lack of a better word. About three-quarters of the tables were filled with patrons; some were families and some were couples. The décor was a little cluttered but it made the restaurant feel warm and inviting. A waiter greeted Austin with a smile of recognition and led them to a table for two at the window looking out over the street.

"Oh Austin, this IS nice, thanks for bringing me here," Ally gushed enthusiastically once they had been left with menus.

Once they had placed their orders (a lamb dish for him and a grain bowl with falafel for her), Ally said, "Okay you weren't kidding about the tension with Kira. Today was awkward for everyone in the room."

"Yeah… it's like that basically all the time. I don't really know how we're going to get through performing together. Kira is really talented but she hasn't handled our breakup professionally at all. I know a lot of it is my fault because I broke up with her, but every time I try to even be civil, she starts a fight. I'm looking forward to fall break next week so I can get away from all the drama."

Ally grimaced at his description, then asked, "What are you doing for fall break? Any big plans?"

Austin shrugged and said "Not really. I want to record a few more songs to post online but mostly I'll be working at my parents' mattress store. Not thrilling but a good way to make a little cash to get through the rest of the semester. What about you?"

"About the same, I'll be working in my Dad's music store actually. It's always good to see him, but my mom won't be home unfortunately so it'll be a lot of one-on-one time with him."

"Where is your mom? Do they not live together?" Austin asked.

"No, they got divorced when I was a kid. She's actually a scientist and she's off in Africa observing and working with gorillas. It's super inspiring and we video chat a lot but I really miss getting hugs from her…" Ally said sadly.

Austin reached over and patted her hand gently before letting his rest on top of hers. "Oh Ally, I'm sorry, that really sucks. But trust me having both parents around isn't always the dream either. My parents are both really skeptical about my desire to be a performer so it feels like they're teaming up on me when I go home."

Ally nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, my Dad has always been pretty skeptical of me making it in the music business, too. My Mom's the one who really pushes me to pursue my dreams."

"At least you've got one parent like that! Even if she is far away you know she's rooting for you," Austin smiled.

Their food arrived and Ally realized Austin was still holding her hand. She quickly withdrew from his grasp in order to put her napkin in her lap and focused on her food. Austin, however, held up his glass of iced tea and said "Here's to acing econ exams!" She raised her glass to meet his and they sipped their drinks, grinning.

The rest of their dinner conversation was less intensely personal and more about college gossip and the classes they had taken. Yet, Ally still felt more connected to him after the meal was over than before. They walked back to campus together, and she started humming a song from the show under her breath. Austin noticed and started humming a harmony part. They grinned at each other as they made music together effortlessly. When they reached her dorm building, he pulled her into a big and yet again perfect hug for slightly longer than strictly necessary between friends, then waved goodnight and strolled off down the path. Ally looked after him for a moment and realized she still wasn't sure if their dinner had been a date.

**These chapters keep getting longer! Stay tuned for an Austin and Ally fight next chapter (don't worry, it ends up okay).**


	5. Chapter 5

**OK here's a bit more drama for you all. Also the appearance of the first real reason for the T rating. Mostly I wanted to write this whole story to capture the humor and the wonderfully happy and positive nature of Austin and Ally as a show, so I made sure the chapter had a happy ending! Please review/favorite/follow and let me know what you think of how I'm handling Austin and Ally as characters!**

* * *

Chapter 5

The week of fall break passed uneventfully, and then another week passed and only a month and a half remained until the show. The pit band was sounding better and the singers, or at least the lead singers, were starting to seem performance-ready, too. Ally hadn't seen the cast rehearse, but from what Austin and Trish told her it was the choreography, not the music, that was taking a while to come together. The acting was fine, except for all the scenes with Austin and Kira together because they just could not seem to find their chemistry at all. Everyone was worried about the situation but nobody would directly address the issue to the performers or the director.

As per tradition, six weeks before the show the cast held an open mic night to start the process of advertising for the show and also to bond a little and have some fun. Trish begged Ally to come so she would "actually like somebody there," even though Ally knew Trish was actually really close with the rest of the cast. She also knew that Trish just wanted her to get out of her dorm and stop doing homework so she could have a social life.

Before Ally had even agreed she was being dragged off to the pregame for the open mic night, which she hadn't even known was a thing. By the time she and Trish got to performing space in the student center, the majority of the cast was already there. A few people raised eyebrows at a pit band member being invited but they just ignored her without comment. Ally was shy enough at these sorts of things anyway, she was always pretty happy about being ignored.

Austin, however, didn't ignore her. In fact, he noticed the second she entered the room and gave her a big hug, slightly lifting her off the floor. "Ally! You came! Trish said she was trying to talk you into showing up. I told her if she needed any help she could rely on me," he said, nudging Trish and laughing. Ally could smell a bit of beer on his breath but he seemed sober enough.

Trish got them both beers as well. In classic college form, it was cheap beer that tasted almost as much like water as alcohol, but again, Ally didn't mind. She wasn't a big drinker (as her lack of a social life indicated). She wasn't opposed to having a good time, it was just rarely her priority. Huddled in a corner with Austin and Trish, though, the drink tasted good and Ally felt relatively happy. She wasn't surprised when Dez turned up, too, and watched him and Austin do their classic handshake.

"So how many people are going to show up tonight? And how many sing?" Ally asked.

"I'm not sure. Last year it was like 50 people. All the cast members have been commanded to have a song ready, so we won't be short on performers, but a couple of the audience members came up, too," Trish replied.

Dez clapped his hands "Oh boy! What are you two going to sing?"

Austin and Trish looked at each other and shrugged, saying "It's a surprise," but Ally thought she saw the acknowledgment of a secret pass between them.

Dez didn't notice anything and just said, "Ooh surprises! I love surprises!" Ally suspected absolutely nothing would change about the way Dez acted if he got drunk.

Then it was time for the show to start. Ally sat between Austin and Dez in the front row off to one side of the stage. Trish was acting as the host and kicked off the show with a version of "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen. She took volunteers from the crowd and two guys, Brad and Cameron who were playing two of the gamblers in the show, came up next. Three or four more performances went by and Ally was enjoying herself until she heard Trish announce "Next up, Austin Moon and Ally Dawson!"

Before she knew what was happening Austin was dragging her up the steps on the side of the stage. "Come on Ally! You're an amazing singer, you need to show everyone!" he coaxed her. Then she was in front of the microphone with him and she could only look at him with a potent mix of anger and fear, left speechless by the reality of being on stage in front of people. Every choice she'd made in college was to avoid exactly this. Except the choice to be friends with Austin Moon. She was thankful she'd had enough alcohol to ease her nerves just slightly but not enough to get her anywhere near vomiting.

Austin saw that she was frozen and couldn't say anything, so he covered the mic and whispered in her ear, "Trish told me you love 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart,' I know you can sing it perfectly. _We_ can sing it perfectly. Come on, pretend it's just you and me in the band room."

Ally took a deep breath and Austin saw her relax just slightly, so he grabbed his guitar from backstage. He started strumming the opening chords and held eye contact with her as he sang the opening line. Instinct kicked in and Ally sang the response from there. She didn't break eye contact with Austin for a second and focused instead on his eyes, his mouth as he was singing, and his hands on the guitar. She focused so hard she was able to drive out the knowledge that a whole crowd of people was watching her.

Halfway through the song, Austin started testing the waters and leaned in towards her, swaying a little more. She mirrored his actions, although she was still tense. Then he walked around to the other side of her and she grabbed the mic so both of them were still audible and turned to face him. The thought registered in her mind that Austin knew exactly what he was doing. He was turning their song into a full-fledged performance just by relying on her instincts to make her turn to face him and mimic his actions. Then he was standing behind her, moving from one side to the other and singing his lines. All his movement kept her distracted from the audience and she was able to pretend it was just the two of them, goofing around in the band room. They closed out the song with her holding the microphone between them and their faces only inches apart.

The crowd of 50 or 60 people went crazy, cheering for them incredibly loudly. Ally was brought back into the moment and where she was and she once again stood in shock, staring at the crowd. Austin on the other hand bowed theatrically and waved to a couple people in the crowd. Ally unfroze, and then her anger did, too.

Suddenly overwhelmed by annoyance with Austin's massive overstep of boundaries and failure to consider her feelings, she stormed off the stage and out of the performance space. Austin realized she was mad and hurried after her, before Trish could warn him that he should probably just leave Ally alone.

"Ally! Wait up! You did amazing, they loved you in there!" Austin yelled after her.

She turned toward him and gave him a menacing glare. "No Austin, they loved you. And you loved them. YOU love the stage. YOU love performing. Not me. You and Trish completely ignored everything about how that ambush would make me feel. You didn't consider how anxiety-inducing and horrible that was going to be for me, you just wanted to show off for some more people like you always do," she said coldly.

Austin stopped in his tracks. He had never heard Ally speak like that, so confidently or so angrily. "I didn't… We just wanted… I wanted people to know how good you are Ally. That wasn't about me, I swear. I could have performed a solo if all I wanted to do was 'show off' as you put it."

"Oh that's right. Rub it in my face that you're the amazing performer who can do anything and be anything in front of a crowd. You can be a totally different person if you want to. Austin Moon, popular jock who can do anything with his unearned male privilege. I love music, to the core of my being, and I have never been able to do what you do. It sucks, Austin, it sucks so much that I feel incapable of sharing with anybody what I think I might be able to do. But I have _stage fright_ and you ignored it. Totally didn't take it seriously and now here we are. With me screaming at you in a hallway."

"I'm sorry Ally." Austin said simply and then looked away, genuinely hurt by her comments. Ally huffed and walked off again, not saying anything more. Austin sat down in a bench on the hallway and leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling in misery. He hadn't considered how difficult performing would be for her emotionally, he had just wanted her to show off and realize how good she was at singing.

He heard somebody sit down beside him and felt a hand on his shoulder. "Austin, just give her a while to cool off. She's just really emotional right now, but I know Ally and she'll think and think about this until she realizes you didn't mean her any harm. She's got a serious temper, but just know I think we did something really good for her tonight," Trish said sympathetically, before heading back to the performance room.

Austin couldn't stand to go back in and watch the other performances, so he just went back to his dorm room. He half-heartedly tried playing video games, playing his guitar, even working on his homework, but he kept getting distracted by the horribly angry look in Ally's eyes.

A little over two hours after he got back to his room, he heard a soft knock on his door. He opened it to find Ally on the other side. She could see how miserable he was, which turned into surprise at seeing her. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything she blurted out, "Austin, I'm sorry."

He closed his mouth in surprise and she walked past him into the common area, and then into his bedroom. He followed and she closed the door, then sat down on the bed and gestured for him to sit next to her.

"Look," she started, "I said a bunch of things I shouldn't have and that I didn't mean back there. Obviously, I think you're talented and deserve the attention you get for that. And I know you meant well and weren't just showing off."

"Ally, I totally get why you were upset. I didn't think through how tough that might be for you. I guess I'm used to thinking of stage fright as something silly, not something to take seriously. I won't make that mistake again, I promise."

"It's definitely true you and Trish could have handled that whole situation better… I just really don't like surprises and that was the worst kind of surprise. Like a literal nightmare. I mean… it went okay. It made me feel better about performing by the end. But I was honestly afraid I was going to have a heart attack at the beginning."

"I'm not going to lie I kind of thought you were having a heart attack for a minute there," he joked and she laughed, easing the tension.

"Next time, just warn me okay? Give me a little time to prepare?" she said.

"Next time?" he responded with one eyebrow raised, and she punched him lightly on the shoulder. "But seriously, Ally. You need to know how good you are. I believe in you and I want you to believe in yourself. It wasn't just me they were cheering for tonight, it was you, too," he said, holding eye contact with her to let her known he was deeply serious.

She nodded a little and then leaned in for a hug. They could feel the tension release from their bodies as they hugged and it felt right again, the perfect Austin and Ally hugs she had gotten used to. "I should go… it's getting late," she mumbled against his shoulder. He nodded, but they didn't let go for another minute. When they did let go, they didn't lean back far and their faces were only inches apart for a moment. Then Ally got off the bed and released the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She waved to him and then let herself out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day, when Ally walked into rehearsal the room was full of whispers and shocked faces. She had no idea what could possibly be going on, unless they were talking about her behavior at the open mic night the night before. Filled with a sudden surge of panic Ally sat down at the piano and kept her eyes locked on the music as she started to warm up.

The conductor walked into the room and said, "Listen up everyone. There's a general meeting of everyone involved in the musical right now in the auditorium, so let's all head over."

The issue could no longer possibly be about her performance so Ally picked up the nerve to ask the clarinetist "What's going on, do you know?"

"Haven't you heard? Kira dropped out of the show."

Ally felt a wave of shock as questions started running through her mind. Who was going to replace Kira? What had happened to finally make her snap? How did Austin feel about the situation?

The answer to the last question became apparent when she walked into the auditorium. Trish, Austin, and Dez were all sitting together and waved her over. Ally could see Austin's knee bouncing up and down as he sat hunched forward with his elbows on his knees and his fingers interlaced. His body language screamed anxiety. She patted him on the back and sat next to him.

"So what are they going to do?" Ally asked Trish, who just shrugged in response as the director and conductor walked up onto the stage.

The director began, "So, you've probably all heard by now that Kira has decided she cannot perform in the musical this semester due to… personal reasons." He was trying very hard to look everywhere except at Austin, who was still staring at the ground. "Basically, we have one week to sort this out. The band director and I agree that nobody could step into this role with less than a month to prepare, and even then it would be an immense amount of work. I need all of you to think hard and find somebody who is talented and hard-working who might want to play Sarah. Honestly, we're at a loss right now. This could be the first time in recent memory that the music and theater departments haven't put on a musical every semester."

Ally though about the current cast. Every role was filled by a guy, except Trish's part and Trish, while very talented, was not hard-working and not a good fit for the role of Sarah. That meant it would have to be played by somebody who had not been rehearsing with the group at all, or it meant that nobody could possibly take on the role.

Dez suddenly piped up "Ally could do it." Everyone looked at him and then at Ally. Ally saw a few looks and nods of agreement. Austin, too, suddenly perked up and looked at her hopefully, as did Trish. The conductor looked at her in confusion but one of the cast members said, "She performed at open mic night last night and we all learned that apparently she's been hiding an incredible voice the whole time…"

The director asked, "Well, Ally? _Can_ you do it?"

The conductor piped up and said, "Don't worry about the piano part, Ally, I'm sure we could find somebody to cover that, even if they're not as good as you."

Ally blushed and didn't know what to say. The attention made her uncomfortable, as did the idea of taking on the lead role in the musical when she had sung on a stage all of one time in at least the last decade. "Can… can I think about it?" she asked, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Yes, of course. It's a big responsibility. Can you let us know by tomorrow, though? If you don't take it, we need to keep looking," he replied. She nodded, and then they were all dismissed. With the fate of the show hanging in the balance, the conductor cancelled the pit band rehearsal.

Trish managed to grab Ally first and gave Dez and Austin a look that clearly communicated, "This is my best friend and I'm going to talk to her about this first," so they both backed away. As he was leaving, though, Dez said "I wouldn't have volunteered you if I didn't think you could do it Ally," which made her smile.

"OK Ally. I know you're freaking out right now. But this could be perfect. You have the voice, you'll have to trust everyone in this room on that. And Sarah is a good fit character-wise for you. Smart and quiet but spunky when she needs to be. This is the least crazy idea Dez has ever had which isn't a high bar but still. Are you at least going to really think about it?"

"Yeah. Yeah I will. But Trish, I really don't know if I can do this. I just performed for the first time in forever last night and it was really tough for me. And that was just one song! This is so much more, and in front of so many more people. I absolutely do not have the qualifications for this role."

"Well, Kira did, and look where that got us. You heard the director, what we need is somebody with talent who's hardworking. That's you. Anyway, you were captain of your high school debate team. Public speaking on stage isn't your problem, it's just performing solo music on stage that you're afraid of. And in the grand course of the show, that's a problem in, what, five songs? It's not even the majority of what you'd be doing."

Ally paused and though about that. Trish had a point, she was fine with public speaking. But five songs also sounded like a lot.

"Ally, I'm not going to put a ton of pressure on you. I think you should do this but ultimately it's your choice and if it's too much, well, you're the best judge of that. But I believe in you and I think that in a month you could be amazing in this role." Trish patted her on the shoulder and then noticed Austin waiting a polite distance away for his chance to talk to Ally. Trish nodded to him and then picked up her bag and then left.

Austin walked over to Ally, who smiled weakly at him. "Let's go for a walk," he said.

It was early evening as they walked around campus aimlessly, passing next to building after building. It was starting to get a bit chilly and Austin noticed Ally shivering so he gave her the sweatshirt he was wearing under his leather jacket, then he slung an arm around her shoulder and said, "So whatcha thinking about?"

Ally laughed, and responded "What do you think I'm thinking about?"

"Fair point, fair point. Look. You know the one part of your, uh, comments last night that I think you really did mean? The part about wishing you could be a performer. About wanting to share what you can do with the world. And this is your chance. I know I was an asshole last night but we performed together so well. We make a good team, just look at that econ test! I think… I think that I can help calm you down when you're on stage. I think you can relax around me because we're… friends, you know?" Austin hesitated often, afraid of overstepping his bounds, but he wanted to communicate to Ally that he would be there for her if she took the part. He squeezed her shoulder and pulled her a little closer to him before saying jokingly, "Besides, you heard what the director said. You don't want to be the person responsible for making the school miss a musical this semester, do you?"

Ally sighed and smiled. Yet again, a friend was making an entirely valid point she had to consider. Austin _did_ calm her down, and made her feel genuinely comfortable in a way that few people could, even though they hadn't been friends for that long. If she was going to be able to perform with anyone, it would be him. And he was right, too, that this was her dream. There was no other moment where the stakes were both so high and so low. It was quite possible that if she didn't take the role nobody would, and the musical wouldn't go on. Surely having a mediocre, under-rehearsed Sarah who froze every time she opened her mouth would be better than having no Sarah at all? She didn't want all her friends' hard work this semester to be wasted.

She briefly, bitterly though of Kira bailing on the entire cast because she couldn't be bothered to stay professional, but she thought better of it. Who was she to say what was true emotional trauma and what was pretense and self-centeredness from Kira? Maybe she really was heartbroken and deeply upset every time she had to sing love songs with Austin.

"Soooo… if I did take the part would you work with me as much as I worked with you on that econ test?" Ally asked quietly but jokingly.

Austin turned to her with a big grin and said "Oh you KNOW IT. We'd be singing everywhere we walked, I'd never leave your side just constantly rehearse with you. I know I don't always put in the work on my school work but trust me, music and dancing are the two things I always put my heart and soul into. I'd be at your beck and call for rehearsals, anytime, anywhere you wanted!"

Ally giggled at his exuberance but nodded silently. They walked silently for several more minutes before Austin asked, "Does that mean you'll do it?"

Suddenly firm, Ally answered "Yes. I'll do it."

She emailed the director and conductor that night to let them know about her decision and then prepared herself for a long month of nonstop rehearsing. With Austin.

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**Probably the least surprising plot-twist ever for you all. Sorry for being predictable!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

All things considered, it wasn't going too bad. Yes, Ally froze the first rehearsal in front of everyone. Yes, she froze the second rehearsal in front of everyone, too, but for a shorter length of time. By the third rehearsal she was just shaking but was actually able to sing.

In positive things, it turned out her acting wasn't too bad. She discovered that it was in fact quite similar to debate both because Sarah as a character was often combative during the show and because Ally had always been faking her confidence for debates just like she needed to in order to perform. The director went from wincing when she tried to sing to smiling when she was just acting.

Most of the cast members were a little stand-offish but Ally didn't mind. It was natural to her, she was an outsider coming in last minute. Austin and Trish were enough company for her. In fact, Austin hadn't been kidding, he did seem attached at the hip to her since she took on the role. He was always texting, asking if she wanted to rehearse, and appearing randomly and quizzing her on her lines in the dining hall or on walks to classes. She appreciated just how supportive he was, even if sometimes she thought she could use a little more alone time.

The part she was really grateful for was that they spent several hours per week practicing with just the two of them in a practice room in the music building. He was helping her build up confidence in her performing ability, and praised her every time she got through a song. Their duets were coming along better than her solo songs. "If I Were a Bell" was her big hurdle. If she could nail that performance in front of a crowd, she knew she could do anything.

Austin had started bringing in small audiences for her, once she had gotten comfortable in front of him. First it was just Trish, then he added Dez. Then he grabbed a random stranger from the hall, telling him "it's for the good of the school!" and made him sit and listen. Ally squeaked in protest but sighed and managed to get through it, albeit a little more quietly than she would have liked. Austin, ever her personal cheerleader, continuously complimented her on her progress.

As if the strain of trying to undo years and years of stage fright wasn't enough, there were a few scenes they had yet to rehearse. Namely, the kissing scenes. There were two major ones: the first was when Sky kisses Sarah after "I'll Know" and she slaps him; the second was right before "If I Were a Bell" when she was supposed to be drunk in Cuba. Ally had just been pushing those scenes out of her mind and so far it had worked: she was not cripplingly anxious about having to publicly kiss Austin.

That was until she saw the rehearsal schedule for the next day and both scenes were listed. The director must have known and put it off for as long as possible. They were the only scenes she had yet to rehearse with the cast. Instantly, Ally felt her heart race significantly faster.

Then she chided herself that she was being silly. Ally had kissed boys before. Several, in fact (she was in college after all) and had been in quasi-relationships that involved a lot of making out in dorm rooms for a month or so before they fizzled out. So, it wasn't like this was her first kiss. But Austin _was_ turning into her best guy friend and she had still never figured out whether their dinner was a date. Put another way: she didn't think either of them were fully in the friend zone, even if they also weren't in the romantic zone. But that just made things more complicated and added a level of intensity to her nerves about the kiss scene.

That night she heard a knock on her door as she was attempting to complete her economics problem set (and not getting very far since her mind was other places). She was surprised to see Austin standing there, he usually texted before showing up at her room.

He stepped inside the door and closed it, then leaned back against it and looked at her strangely for a moment. She stood about a foot from him and made a gesture telling him to explain his presence in her room. She was trying very hard not to stare at his lips or make eye contact or do anything that would remind her she needed to kiss him tomorrow in front of near-strangers.

"Ally… I know you said you like warning and a chance to prepare and all. But sometimes, you know, that's just not what's called for. Sometimes you have to avoid overthinking and, well, overtalking. And that's what I'm trying to do, although I'm failing spectacularly at overtalking. Just… don't think too much about this."

And with that he leaned forward, closing the space between them and leaning down so he could reach her. His hand slid through her hair to the back of her neck and before she could fully register what was happening his mouth was on hers and he was kissing her. It wasn't just a peck, she had an opportunity to enjoy the warmth and comfort of the kiss and how soft his lips felt against hers, but it also didn't last long. Austin pulled away slightly and said "Sorry if that was unexpected or unwanted, I just… I didn't want us having to fumble through awkwardness tomorrow in front of people. I figured it was probably stressing you out, especially since I was feeling kind of weird about it, too."

Ally opened her eyes and looked at him for a moment and said coyly, "Well there's one other scene we have to rehearse, too." She then imitated his motion and wrapping her hand around the back of his neck and then she stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. For a moment it seemed like it might turn into them making out, but they both pulled away after less than a minute.

Austin looked at her in mild shock and she just shrugged, saying "What? You had to practice kissing me and I had to practice kissing you. Two very different scenes, obviously."

Austin laughed, shaking his head, then smirked at her and said, "Ally Dawson, you continue to make me ask, is there anything you aren't good at?" before he turned and slipped out the door and left Ally alone, pondering the evening's events and Austin's compliment.

The next day at rehearsal, Austin and Ally acted as if nothing had happened. When they got to the point in the script where Sky kissed Ally, she had to pretend to resist but in fact didn't mind at all that she was getting another chance to kiss Austin. The slap she gave him afterward was more playful than serious, and the director had to explain to her the art of a stage slap. The kiss in Cuba, likewise, lasted a bit longer than strictly necessary. She noticed Austin made no objection to rehearsing the scene as often as necessary and she blushed as she remembered his comment from the night before.

After the rehearsal ended and Austin was not on the stage, Trish sidled up to Ally and said in a quiet voice, "Yeah, sure, there's toootally nothing going on between you and Austin," with a raised eyebrow. Ally could only weakly protest. Was there something now going on between her and Austin for real now?

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**Somehow betting you all liked this chapter. Actually got the idea for this from an interview I watched of Gavin Leatherwood talking about how he handled having to kiss Kiernan Shipka for the first time on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and I thought it was cute.**


	8. Chapter 8

**This one's a bit more directly pulling from the show, hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 8

There was only one week left before the show and the anticipation was palpable among the cast. The department had started selling tickets and the director wanted the whole cast to take shifts in pairs in the student center trying to sell tickets and attract attention to the show. But it was also tech week, which meant Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 4 to 11 o'clock the whole cast, pit band, and tech team were in the auditorium. Every day they would run through the whole show, get notes from the director and conductor, take a break for dinner where they all clumped off into groups and ate bad pizza, and then run through the show again from the top.

Ally loved spending this much time doing music and hanging out with Austin and Trish but she was also stressed by the fact she couldn't quite stay on top of her school work with this full a schedule. She kept telling herself it was only one week and she could catch up the instant the show was over, but she felt an emotional strain from not being her usual perfect self. The director had paired her with Austin to cover the busiest shift in the student center every day, thinking they could sell the most tickets, and she was explaining her worries to him as they set up the table on Tuesday.

"Yeah, I totally see where you're coming from Ally. I mean, I've never cared THAT much about school, but it's part of who you are. It's like if life kept me from dance practice for a week." Ally thought about it and agreed, those things probably had the same relative emotional importance for each of them.

It was their third day of working the table and trying to pester people into buying tickets, so it was starting to feel mundane and boring. They kept singing their two duets over and over to attract attention, to the point of it actually starting to hurt their ears. Ally kind of liked it the first two days, it let her practice numbing herself to the feeling of total strangers watching her sing and by now she was actually starting to believe in herself and that she could do this. But Austin was starting to go a little stir crazy.

"Ok, I seriously can't take it anymore. We need to sing something else. Literally anything else." Austin pouted and sat down on the edge of the table.

"Austin, like what? Other songs won't advertise the show. If we sing something people know, they won't think we're trying to sell tickets." Ally sat next to him, legs crossed and hands wrapped around the edge of the table.

Austin looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Well… I do still remember that song you played me in the band room. I know you must have lyrics to it! Nobody would know the song so they could believe it was in the show and would wonder what it was!"

Ally almost knocked her head against a wall in frustration. "Austin. I have told you nobody hears the songs I write. Ever. It's just a thing I do for fun."

"But you let me hear it!"

"I let you hear the song, not the lyrics."

"Psh, semantics. You want to show off those songs. Come onnnn. If you don't want to sing it, I will for you!"

Ally frowned. She _was_ sick of singing the "Guys and Dolls" songs. And Austin and the musical had definitely poked some holes in her fears that she could never successfully be a musician. She felt braver now than she ever had before, even though she still didn't feel incredibly brave.

"I don't… ugh fine. If I don't give in you'll just keep begging." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small, brown leather notebook and rifled through a few of the pages. Austin tried to make her hold it so he could read over her shoulder but she slapped at his hand and snapped "Don't touch my book!"

Austin grinned at her possessiveness and just sat close to her, resting his chin on her shoulder and reading what was on the pages. His close proximity caused her to lose focus momentarily, just long enough for him to read all the words on the page in front of him.

"Ally. I love this. And you have the melody for the music written out, too. Let's sing this!" Without waiting for her to reply, Austin started the first verse of "You Can Come to Me." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and handed the book back to her, but she knew the lyrics by heart. She had written the song only two weeks prior and, if she was being honest with herself she had written in about him. She took over the second verse and, using her usual tactic to steady herself, she held eye contact with him and focused on singing to him. He did the same, and they stopped trying to do anything but perform the song for each other, testing out how it sounded with their voices pairing together. They had made so much music together the past month but this was different, so much more personal because it was her words and not projected onto two characters they were playing. This was about them, and Austin was able to see that without her having to tell him.

When they finished there was a small crowd of around ten people watching them, who clapped. Ally blushed but then a couple people approached for tickets and she went back into her professional mode to handle the transactions. She didn't even notice Austin was continuing to look through her notebook until she finished selling the tickets.

"Austin! What did I say! Don't touch my book!"

Sheepishly he slid it back to her across the table. "Ally… there are enough songs in here for an album, no kidding. I was joking when I teased you about that before but these are good. You could totally do something with these… or we could."

She narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean 'we?' Is this about me helping you with your composition class again, because I'm not sure I'm prepared to do all your work for you for the next two years."

He laughed and said, "No, no, I mean like we could perform these. On campus. There are always groups looking for a live performing group and the two of us singing with my guitar would be great. And we could do a YouTube channel… so far I've just been doing covers of other songs on mine, but we could do your original songs!"

Ally sighed. He was always pushing her out of her comfort zone. That wasn't a bad thing, but it was a profoundly annoying thing. "I don't know Austin. Maybe. I don't hate the idea. But can we wait until after the show is over? I can't handle thinking about anything other than the musical and all the homework I'm not doing." He nodded understandingly, and she paused before handing him the notebook back and adding, "But what do you think of this one?"

They spent the rest of their shift talking over her songs, not really trying to sell tickets except by occasionally trying out one of the songs out loud.

That night at rehearsal Ally was sitting and eating with Trish and Dez and Austin as usual. She got up to throw out her trash and she wound up there just ahead of Brad and Cameron.

"Oh hey Ally, you were really great today." Brad said to her casually, and Cameron nodded giving her a thumbs up.

"Oh… um thanks guys!" She replied, surprised at the compliment and feeling a little more accepted. She realized the cast really had been warming up to her during tech week. It certainly was a bonding experience, they were all so tired and energized together. Nerves were running high but the show was almost performance ready, and they could all feel it. There was nothing like putting a show together. Ally knew that from being in the pit the last few years, but it felt different being up on stage. It was so much more empowering to be leading in the group, rather than pushing from behind on the piano.

She was smiling to herself, staring at the garbage can when Dez and Austin walked up to also throw out their trash. "Ally? You ok there?" Austin asked, nudging her back into reality.

"Whoops I just zoned out there," she laughed.

"Oh, I thought you were meditating about the trash can. I do that a lot. Very soothing," Dez responded. Austin and Ally just looked at each other and laughed.

One more day of rehearsal was all they had before the show went on.


	9. Chapter 9

**Warning: this is the chapter I knew from the beginning was going to involve some T rated content. There's alcohol content and some suggestive content so consider yourself warned.**

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Chapter 9

It was opening night. An hour until the curtain rose. Ally was freaking out.

She was sitting alone in her dorm room, trying to focus on slowing her breathing and heartbeat, afraid she was feeling the onset of a panic attack. She had, unfortunately, been alone all day which had given her far too much time in her own head. Her mom and dad had both called earlier to tell her how proud they were and how much they were rooting for her, but they were too far away to provide any lasting comfort. At this point, she had envisioned every possible worst-case scenario and was trying to calculate the odds of each happening.

A knock at the door made her move for the first time in an hour. As she had half expected at this point, Austin was waiting patiently in the hallway.

"Hey! You look… honestly not as freaked out as I expected," he commented honestly.

She gave him a short laugh and went back to sitting on the bed, staring at her feet.

"I mean, you're dressed and look sort of functional, so we're already in the territory of possibly going to make it on stage tonight!" he joked. Seeing that it wasn't helping, he sat on the bed next to her and said, "Ok, look at me." She obeyed after a moment's hesitation. "Repeat after me," he commanded, and then chanted "I am going to kick ass tonight. I am going to kick ass tonight."

She looked at him doubtfully, he looked at her expectantly. Finally, she repeated the phrase with exactly zero enthusiasm.

"Ok, good, that's a start! Again!"

They went back and forth on this until he was saying the phrase in funny voices and she was practically yelling it, leaving them both laughing. Austin tackled her with a bear hug and whispered in her ear "You're damn right Ally, you ARE going to kick ass tonight!" and she almost believed him.

They were lying side by side on the bed with his arms around her and his lips next to his ear. She couldn't even bring herself to think too hard about it, it was too nice and she was so grateful for him coming over and knowing she would be a mess in that moment. Whatever else might or might not be going on between them (and there had been no progress on figuring that out, other than a little flirty banter, since the night they kissed in her room), she knew that they were friends first, and very close friends at that.

"Alright Ally Dawson, it's time for us to go to makeup!" In an effort to keep her laughing and distracted he started running circles around her on the way up campus and then made her skip the rest of the way with him, leaving them breathless and giggling at the theater.

After that, time passed in a blur until she was standing backstage, watching the first number and knowing her entrance was in just a moment. She saw Trish on the opposite side of the stage give her a big thumbs up and smile. Austin whispered "Don't forget, you're going to kick ass tonight!" and then gave her a little push when it was time to walk out on stage.

The lights were blinding and she couldn't even see the audience, which was helpful. Ally just pretended like this was one of the hundred rehearsals she'd done of this show in the past month and spoke her lines. She just did it. She sang the songs and sank into the performance. The kiss scenes went by in a blur and by the time she made it to "If I Were a Bell," she was riding high on adrenaline and powered through it magnificently. She knew as soon as she walked off stage with Austin that she had performed it better than in her wildest dreams.

During the curtain call at the end of the show, she walked to the front of the stage with Austin and took a bow, to loud applause and a few cheers from what turned out to be quite a full theater. Austin surprised her with another big hug there in front of everyone but she just hugged him back, thankful for something to hold onto now that the adrenaline was draining from her system.

Backstage, as she was taking off her makeup, she commented to no one in particular, "God that was exhausting, I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"Ally Dawson don't you dare speak of going to sleep. You know it's cast party time!" Trish yelled at her across the room. Ally sighed deeply and dramatically, but shrugged. She could definitely also use a drink right now to celebrate the evening's success.

One of the cast members was also in a frat on campus and had arranged to turn the house into the location for their cast party. She headed over with the whole cast and before long the house was a total party atmosphere. The frat had, unsurprisingly, all the mood lighting essentials, a powerful sound system, and endless alcohol. Somebody had the brilliant idea of serving drinks in fake coconuts, just like in the scene in Cuba, so they were all making jokes and sipping vodka with the mixer of their choice out of coconuts.

With the whole cast, pit, and crew together there were about fifty people which made for a pretty full party. Trish, being the loudest in the room, stood on a chair after about half an hour and led the toast-making process. People called out toasts for different actors or groups who had been involved and everyone had to drink. Trish led off with a toast to the whole group, which received hearty applause. Somebody called out the three guys who had played the gamblers, leading to another cheer. Then Austin yelled out, "Here's to Ally, the savior of our show!" and the room exploded in cheers, louder than the previous two. Ally blushed and took a drink with the rest. On it went until they were out of people to cheer, but everyone was substantially more drunk.

On her third drink and feeling quite tipsy, Ally found Austin and Trish and Dez in the room with the dancing. Austin was already on drink four and was apparently trying to dance the alcohol out of his system, judging by the amount of jumping he was doing. The four of them danced together, laughing at Dez's zany dance moves. Ally and Trish jokingly danced together, and Austin and Dez followed, arms around each other's waists and necks. It had been a while since Ally felt like this: free and happy. She had conquered her fear. She had amazing friends. She had won over the entire cast and crew. Everything seemed perfect. And suddenly she discovered she loved dancing, too.

The music was loud and the dance floor was starting to get hot. Trish motioned she was going to the bathroom and Dez followed her through the crowd to get another drink, which left Austin and Ally alone on the dance floor. Pushed together by the crowd, their bodies were pressed up against each other and after all the kisses and the flirtation and the maybe-dates, Ally didn't mind at all. It was just a party after all, dancing was natural. It didn't have to mean anything, right?

Then Austin was jostled forward and his hands went to her waist to steady himself, and her arms went around his neck. The pounding baseline made it impossible to hear each other, but she could see he was staring at her intently. If he was feeling anything like she was they were both operating on pure instinct now. The alcohol left no room for over-thinking and their bodies moved against each other to the rhythm of the music. Her hand moved up into his hair and massaged the nape of his neck and his hands spread out to her upper and lower back, pulling her closer. Nobody around them was watching them, lost in their own dancing or attempts at conversation, and it was like they were in their own little bubble.

At this point their faces were extremely close, foreheads resting against each other. In the moment, Ally wanted nothing more than to kiss him. Austin seemed to feel the same way because he finally, after the tension had built to almost unbearable levels, leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. It was a little sloppier and more intense than their stage kisses had ever been, but it was exactly what she wanted. But Austin pulled away quickly, carefully examining her face and clearly asking her if what had just happened was okay with her. She smiled, grateful for his concern and care for her consent, but quickly answered his question by pulling him back in for a much more intense kiss. She felt him moan slightly against her mouth and then they were finally making out, lost in each other's kisses.

Ally lost track of time and her surroundings at that point. What followed could have been fifteen minutes or two hours (it was, in fact, about 45 minutes). They danced and kissed. She turned around so her back was to him and he pulled her hard against him, kissing along her neck and keeping a tight hold on her hips. Then they were up against a wall with hands running up and down each other's backs and into each other's hair. Austin never pushed for anything more than that and, even drunk, he didn't cross any boundaries he imagined Ally might possibly object to.

The party was starting to wind down, though, and the crowd was thinning out. When they came up for air Austin pressed his forehead to hers. It was finally quiet enough that they could hear each other and he said, "Let's get out of here?" Ally nodded, still tipsy and exhilarated by the dancing and kissing and just Austin's intoxicating proximity. She pulled him by the hand out the door, not even bothering to see if they could find Trish and Dez to say goodbye.

Instinctively, she started heading towards her room and he followed, tucking his hand into the back pocket of her jeans and pulling her close. It wasn't a long walk but every few minutes he would stop them and lean down and kiss her again, for anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. Each time she would laugh and push him a little away and then pull him along faster.

Just as they reached the entrance to her dorm building, Austin's phone rang loudly in the quiet night. He muttered something in frustration and then checked the text, which caused him to curse much louder.

"Ally… Ally it's Dez. He's throwing up. I've got to go help him, I can't leave him alone in a bathroom puking. I'm so sorry I wanted this… I still want this so badly. But I just can't tonight I'm sorry…" he said, frustration and worry in his voice.

Ally pulled back a little and the situation made her head clear a little. "Oh Austin no, you have to go. He's your best friend!" He smiled warmly at her, pulling her close again. "Thanks for understanding Ally. I wouldn't do this if it were anyone other than Dez." Then he kissed her, much slower and gentler this time but it lingered until he had to tear himself away. They hugged quickly and he ran down the steps while she swiped into her building.

Alone in her room, she slumped down to the floor with a glass of water in her hand. Her head was spinning with the events of the day but she knew one thing for sure: she couldn't deny there was something going on between her and Austin Moon any longer.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next day Ally tried to focus on getting some of her school work done before the show that night, but she kept her phone next to her at all times, waiting for a text. By 3 PM she caved in, reminding herself that women could start conversations too, and sent Austin a text saying "How's Dez feeling?" When she hadn't received a text three hours later and it was time to head to the theater, she started to worry. She shrugged, wondering if maybe he had just slept through the whole day.

At the theater she saw Trish and waved her over to the quietest corner of the stage she could find.

"TRISH. Girl talk time."

"Ally, I know you and Austin made out last night…"

Ally paused, not having considered that other people might have seen them at the party. "Oh, uh right, okay. Still… you're, like, okay with it right?"

Trish laughed, "Yeah, I mean as long as you don't pull another Kira we'll be fine right? So what happened after the party?"

Ally laughed nervously at the mention of Kira, not wanting to think about the fact that Austin may have spent the day ignoring her. She explained to Trish about Dez's vomiting and how Austin had to run to the rescue. Trish just commented "Leave it to Dez to ruin a memorable night…"

Austin was late to makeup and late getting into his costume. When he finally did show up, he gave her a cheery "Hey Ally!" but promptly ignored her in the bustle of getting ready for the show. Fortunately, performing was enough of an adrenaline rush to allow her to push all the overthinking and anxiety to the back of her mind for the duration of the show. The audience was even bigger than the night before and performing with Austin was just like it always was. She felt like things were normal when they were singing to each other and making music together. But there wasn't as much magic as the first night of the show. No big hug from Austin at the end, not as much terror in Ally's mind. She wasn't surprised, but a little sad that the high of the previous night couldn't have lasted a little longer.

After the show, she looked around for Austin but by the time she had gotten out of her wig and makeup he was already gone. She did run into Dez on her way out.

"Hey Dez! How are you feeling? I heard you had a bit of, uh, trouble last night."

"Hey Ally! Great job tonight! And yup, just vomited for like two hours, no big deal! All better now."

"That's good! Austin was worried about you."

"Ha, yeah, he was… quite annoyed that I interrupted what you guys were up to last night," Dez said suggestively.

"Was he? You wouldn't know it from how he acted today, I didn't hear from him at all…"

The expression on Dez's face shifted slightly, but Ally couldn't tell what he was thinking. "I'm sure he's just wrapped up in the show, Ally, you know how he is about performing." And then Dez ducked away quickly, and Ally suspected it was in order to avoid further questioning.

The rest of the night, Ally progressively got sadder, spinning melancholy tales in her mind about how Austin couldn't possibly like her, she had just imagined everything before this and she was the one who had been silly. It had just been a few alcohol-infused kisses, nothing to get too attached to. But she still wanted their friendship to make it through this, so she sent him one more text that night saying "Sorry I missed you after the show, great job tonight!"

She woke up the next morning, saw she had no texts, and went from sad to angry. Ally was moving through the stages of grief quickly, and when Ally was upset she didn't seek out her friends, not even Trish. She just hid in her room and attempted to focus on her work while wavering back and forth between resolving not to check her phone and then checking her phone.

By the time the show rolled around that night she had moved into pretending to be over it. She had convinced herself that he wasn't interested in her, he wasn't even trying to save the friendship, and he wasn't worth worrying another second about. This was of course all lies to herself, to cover up how hurt and afraid she was. But if she could put on a brave face internally, maybe she could when she saw him that night, too. Then, when the show was over after tonight, she could pretend she never met him.

Ally intentionally didn't look around for him when she got back stage, but as fate would have it, they wound up sitting next to each other for makeup. After he said hello and she nodded back, an awkward silence descended. She forced herself not to speak; if anybody was going to start a conversation it needed to be him. But he didn't, despite looking over at her several times and seeming like he was about to open his mouth. Finally, when he was done, he just said "Break a leg tonight Ally," and walked away. She couldn't even look at him as he said it, she was struggling to keep back tears of frustration.

The show started and Ally was able to slip back into the role of Sarah for one last performance. She didn't realize how much that was allowing her subconscious to take over until she got to the scene where she sang "I'll Know" with Austin.

Without even thinking about it, after he kissed her she actually slapped him instead of stage slapping him. All her frustration and anger and hurt came out in that moment and she saw the shock register on Austin's face. He made eye contact with her and looked both apologetic and confused. The audience had no idea that anything unusual had happened, but Ally could tell when she exited the stage that the rest of the cast had seen (and heard) what had happened. She didn't talk to anyone, just kept her eyes on the floor until her next cue to go onstage.

During the intermission, she was sitting on her phone backstage and attempting to avoid all conversation. Trish was wise enough to stay clear after giving Ally a quick hug because she could tell what was going on inside her best friend's mind.

Then she heard a quiet, "Ally?" and looked up into Austin's face. She felt a quick rush of emotion and her feelings for him welled up in a moment of vulnerability, but she quickly tamped them down and said "Yeah?"

"Look, I wanted to tell you that I, well, that we…"

"Austin don't bother. We're in the middle of the show, I can't be doing conversations about emotions right now," she interrupted. Then she added, "I need to focus on staying in character, not on petty drama in my personal life," just to hurt him. He winced and nodded, recognizing that Ally was not to be trifled with at the moment, then said, "After the show, then. We'll talk, I promise." He left her alone after that.

The second half of the show was harder for Ally because she needed to fall for Austin, or rather Sky Masterson, but it was hard to separate the two at this point. Easy enough to do, but painful to recover from. As she was kissing him in Cuba she remembered all the romantic, meaningful moments she and Austin had had in the last few months. The reasons for what she now recognized as her enormous crush on Austin all came rushing back and she felt herself sinking perhaps dangerously far into Sarah's romantic mindset by the end. The characters got a happy ending, but would she and Austin?

When the cast took their bows, she was nervous. She wanted to focus on living in the moment and enjoying the last night of her first theater performance ever, which had gone so successfully. Instead her mind was stuck on Austin's promise that they would talk after the show. The time was drawing close and she wanted to run away, despite the fact that all she had wanted from him the past two days was for him to talk to her.

After the show, Austin was quickly surrounded backstage by his friends from the basketball team who had all showed up to support him closing night. Ally made eye contact with him momentarily, but looked away again and headed for the door, unwilling to fight for Austin's attention and happy to use the circumstances as an excuse to get out of the situation.

She hadn't made it very far across campus before Austin caught up with her in the middle of the quad. "Ally wait! Where are you going? Please let's talk."

She stopped and turned slowly to face him, hiking her bag up on her shoulder further. "Talk about what?" she asked flatly, not willing to ask with either optimism or pessimism.

Austin shrugged and looked at her pleadingly. "You know, about the other night. Us. Stuff."

"Yeah, stuff. Perfect. Look I'm tired. I get it. You just want to be friends, meaning we'll never talk again now that the show is over. Fine by me." She turned to walk away again, but he put his hands on his shoulders and turned her back towards him.

"What the hell are you talking about Ally? That's not at all what's going on here."

"Oh come on, you don't text me at all for two days? Can't even look at me or talk to me unless we're playing characters on stage. It all tells me you regret that we kissed and you're thankful Dez threw up just so you didn't wind up making more mistakes. This is why Kira left the show, too, isn't it? Because she couldn't handle your inability to commit to her any longer." Ally challenged him, too tired to keep in her annoyance with him.

"Ally, Kira left the show because she said she couldn't stand to see how much I liked you. Which I do, and I would have told you as much if you even let me get a word in here."

Ally just stayed silent, looking at the ground, unprepared to control whatever emotions were swirling around inside her at his statement.

"Ally, look, I know it was messed up of me to not talk to you yesterday. And then again today. I just…I needed to think, okay? I know I should have at least communicated that to you, but I'm still working on that stuff. I was scared by how much I liked you and Thursday night just brought that all to the surface really quickly. You and I have been dancing around this for a long time, but I hadn't really admitted to myself how I felt. It was easier to just keep flirting with you and kissing you during rehearsals instead of for real. Because I was afraid that what happened with Kira could happen again with you and I care about you so much more than I ever cared about Kira. You're one of my best friends now Ally, and I want to make original music with you and perform in more musicals with you and do everything else, and I was afraid dating you would ruin that. I don't know, it was all messing with my head and I'm sorry I upset you but I'm here now, I'm back, and I want to be with you. I want to be boyfriend and girlfriend and go on dates and meet each other's parents and be adorable in public, the whole thing. I mean, that is, if you want that…" He finally paused to catch his breath after the whole speech tumbled out, and waited for Ally to say something.

She looked up at him and just said "Oh."

"Oh?" he asked, unsure what she meant.

"I didn't expect you to be the bigger overthinker here, honestly. I mean… it was so simple to me. After we kissed on Thursday I just wanted to keep kissing you. And being goofy with you. And talking music with you. You must know I like you Austin, I wouldn't be going this crazy if I didn't. I hadn't even made it to the thought about labels, but yes of course that's what I want. I guess I wasn't worried about the rest because ultimately I knew that our friendship was so much stronger than what you had with Kira, and we could never break up on bad terms. I can't envision the rest of my college experience without you in it, in one form or another. So don't worry that it's going to end in a big blowup and another musical disaster. I'm not Kira, and we're not that relationship. I guess we're just… us now."

Austin was smiling at her, with such pure joy in his eyes at this point. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, spinning them around in the still empty quad. When he put her down he pulled her close to him and kissed her for a long time, in a passionate but unhurried sort of way. When he finally pulled away she smiled, eyes still closed, and pressed her forehead to his, saying "Not a bad way to start this relationship." Then they walked back to her dorm, arms around each other.

* * *

**Yay happy endings! I'm a little torn about whether to continue this story or just end it here. I feel like barring some surprising outcry for more this will be the last chapter, it certainly feels like a natural end point. Hope you all enjoyed!**


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